The last few books I’ve read talked about success suicide. This is “the thing” that jumps up and distracts you when you are on the brink of success. It is your response to this distraction that determines your success in the future. The issue I have with this is distractions happen all the time! The difference between being a “black cloud” and eternally optimistic is your expectations and your response to unforeseen events. People with a positive outlook on life know that things are going to go wrong but the trick is they “fail faster”. They don’t waste time dwelling on what went wrong; they deal with it and move on. We’ve had our share of success suicide this year already, mostly weather related, but still distracting from our goals. We’re trying to remind ourselves that we’re overcoming all of our roadblocks early in the year so there’s only room for improvement. So here’s to January being over and to happy, healthy, safe, and warm rest of the year.

I have been seeing many comments about New Year’s Resolutions on social media and the I find the variation in attitude towards this subject very humorous, from the pessimistic “It’s almost time for that ‘new year, new me’ B.S.” to the dreamy “On the 1st of January 2014 something very rare will happen. We will start the first day of the New Year with a New Moon. A New Moon is all about new beginnings and fresh starts. This year we can truly wipe the slate clean and start the New Year, a New You.” Whatever your attitude about change during the New Year, I want you to understand that it is possible to create real, lasting change in your life (regardless of the time of year). We’ve worked with many patients who were looking to make significant changes in their life in areas like, weight loss, quitting smoking, or managing stress. Some used the reason of New Year’s Resolutions to decide to change, others were just fed up with their current situation and ready for something different. These are the tips we offer to our patients who are undergoing a resolution of any kind: 1. Find a strong and powerful motivator 2. Make it a daily task, but allow for imperfection 3. Set realistic and measurable goals and 4. Utilize a support group. If you have any questions or would like more information about how we can help you reach your goals, please ask.